Rocky Mountain Goat Question

ELKOHOLIC · Feb 10, 2004

How do you tell the difference between the Female and the Male? Obviously by the size, but is there anything else that really sets them apart? I have heard that the Male's horns curve back a little more. I put in for Female Goat and I guess there is an orientation class that you have to take before the hunt starts.

joebuck · Feb 10, 2004

The nanny has very straight thin horns with a sharp hook at the very tip. Billies horns are usually heavier and curve gradually from the base to the tip. Billies also have a prominent gland at the base of their horns while the gland on a nanny will be less noticeable. Also nannies are generally a lot whiter haired than a billy, which will look almost yellow in comparison. If you get a chance to see them during breeding season the billies will be very dirty from wallowing. Very smelly too.

ELKOHOLIC · Feb 10, 2004

Thanks for the help!

predator · Feb 10, 2004

Elk, nannies also tend to stay with nannies and kids, if the goat is alone, chances are it's probably a billy. I found that the billies also have a much more prominent shoulder hump and neck, but as said above, the popcorn yellow color is a dead giveaway.

Not that I'm any expert, but I watched 25 goats a day for 3 days, and after a few sightings, I got pretty good at calling 'em billy or nanny!

jimbowsai · Feb 11, 2004

Try this url. There is some info you can read and a game that has you sexing goats by looking at photos.

http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/goats/goatsize/

2_Point · Feb 11, 2004

Hey Elk, How many bonus points do you have??

Many say the best way to tell a nannie from a billie is to watch them pee. A small billy can look just like a nannie.

ELKOHOLIC · Feb 11, 2004

THANKS FOR THE INFO ABOUT THE WEBSITE! THAT REALLY HELPS OUT.

jims · Feb 12, 2004

If you have the chance to get up and look over a bunch of goats prior to the season you will soon be able to distinguish sexes. Mature billies are about 2 to 4 times larger in body size than nannies. You can practically throw a nanny over your shoulders while you'll have trouble moving a giant bodied billy.

I have watched Colo goats for quite a few years and have noticed most of the mature billies are the first to loose their winter coats in the spring and the first to get long hair in the fall. In fact, during early to mid Sept there are often nannies that still have the previous year's scruffy fur attached, while the billies have sleek coats that are started to grow longer by the day. I have a feeling this is in response to nannies giving birth to kids early in the spring...additional warmth, milk, and hormones may have something to do with it?

As stated above, MOST of the time mature billies are either alone or in small (2 to 6 billy) groups...without kids! If you look for the steepest, craggiest cliffs in the entire area...that is likely where you'll find the billies. Nannies are often seen lounging in larger groups w/kids in open tundra. There are often small sub-adult billies that are found in these nanny groups. Even at 2 to 2 1/2 years of age these sub-adult billies are often larger in body size than the nannies.

As mentioned above, nanny horn configuration is different than billy. If you look at the harvest reports you'll also see dramatic basal circumference differences between the 2 sexes. Billies horns are massive all the way to the tips, while nannies are mighty thin. Nanny horns are often just as long as billy horns so length means nothing! Just a few more tidbits!